Bodegas Pago de Carraovejas was founded in 1987 by José María Ruiz with a view to producing wine that was good enough to pair with his restaurant’s suckling pig. He chose a hillside site at Carraovejas, in Peñafiel in the then largely unknown Ribera del Duero. The site was a real find. With soils comprising of alternating layers of sandy silt and clay, with limestone, marl, and chalk, it was free-draining, mineral poor and at 850m above sea level, cool and able to offer the vines a long growing season. They were the first to plant Cabernet Sauvignon in the region and they now have plantings of Merlot too. In support of their belief in sustainable winemaking, vines are farmed organically and much of the vineyard work is done by hand. They now produce three wines: the Pago de Carraovejas, El Anejón and Cuesta de las Liebres. All are classics, but the Cuesta de Las Liebres is one of Ribera del Duero’s superstar wines.